PHaB Chairs

Harnessing the subversive, affirmative and joyous powers of cuteness and the unexpectedly queer, the PHaB1&2 chairs are cheeky injections of figuration and sensuality, sweetness and light, into the conceptual minimalism of contemporary design aesthetics. They are a jubilant and adorable celebrations of the human body, and of the beauty and sense of attachment that comes from the subtle anthropomorphising of quotidian domestic objects, which can otherwise feel cold, impersonal and -consequently- disposable.

Made from painted ply and powder-coated steel, the chairs are stackable, robust, and designed to be suitable for the home as well as for more high-intensity restaurant and café environments, but most importantly they are immensely comfortable, with flexible backrests, treating the occupants body with as much love as they treat the imagination with their suggestive form. Their name is an acronym of all of the things that their shapes reference, with some of the letters referring to more than one word… can you guess what they all are?

Part of Furman’s longstanding investigations of the use and power of colour (he co-directs the Saturated Space research group on the subject at the Architectural Association), queer aesthetics in public and domestic environments, and the ability of cuteness to engender a sense of empathy and attachment to inanimate objects, the chairs are naughty little friends for your home, bar, café or restaurant, that will be as adorable and welcome in any space as the most adorable pet or the cheekiest of children.